


The End of a Nation

by doodleteacupx



Series: Our Nation [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Basically you can ignore them, DadSchlatt, Fundy and Quackity really don’t get much recognition, I have no idea what to tag, Manhunt team pog, People Will Die, TWs in notes, auntie puffy got tired of schlatts shit, dream is a king, i want Tommy and tubbos relationship, jealous much wilbur, lots of hybrids, niki is nobility, phil is actually a good dad, puffy is an actual captain, skeppy is bads husband, sleepy bois inc - Freeform, uhhh, what do i tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:55:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29356056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doodleteacupx/pseuds/doodleteacupx
Summary: Phil Watson, and his two taken in sons Tommy and Technoblade live in a terrible world. That isn’t an exaggeration. The king has ordered for any hybrids such as themselves to be killed, or sold off as slaves. So they start to take in hybrids in danger themselves, taking them to a cottage in the woods.Their ultimate goal? To kill the king, and be free forever.But sometimes hybrids have a lot of other issues, more personally.//TWS IN NOTES\\
Relationships: Alexis | Quackity & Jschlatt, Cara | CaptainPuffy & Jschlatt & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Cara | CaptainPuffy & Niki | Nihachu, Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Jschlatt & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Niki | Nihachu & Wilbur Soot, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson, Zak Ahmed/Darryl Noveschosch
Series: Our Nation [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2156373
Comments: 6
Kudos: 133





	1. Wilbur

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger Warnings for this work are as follows:  
> \- Oppression  
> \- Erasure  
> \- Implied/mentioned a**se
> 
> (Later on)  
> \- Manipulation  
> \- Torture
> 
> Also, thank you for deciding to read this work :D it really means a lot!!

_Run, Wil, run, you have to run, you can’t stop now._

Wilbur repeated the mantra in his head as he ran, galloping down the dusty path towards the dark, rich infinity of the forest beyond. His hooves brought up clouds of dust from the ground they were dashing down, dirtying the thick hair on his bare legs. 

He could hear the men he was running from shouting slurs behind them, though he couldn’t let this slow him down. The words they were using were cruel, words only used for hybrids severely hated by humanity. Worthless ones, that couldn’t possibly be of any use to the higher beings. Wilbur stumbled as he thought back to the job that got him into this mess, working as a servant to nobility. The woman was nice, she was young and naïve, but her father was not, and picked at any small detail which could get the satyr exiled, or worse, executed.

Funnily enough, that was exactly what was supposed to be happening. He was being chased by a band of soldiers, sent directly by the king, King Dream, himself, and ready to shoot him dead as soon as they had apprehended him. Three of them in total, all to kill an innocent satyr who had barely just hit adulthood, and who was in fact sobbing as he ran. _Come on, Wilbur, sobbing?_ He thought to himself. _You can do better than this._

Just as he had gotten back into the swing of running as fast as his low energy would take him, a wave of pain shot through his shoulder, and he looked down to see a sharp arrow rip through the flesh and hit the dark bark of a tree just ahead of him. He whimpered, clutching the wound as he continued, ignoring the cheers of the three behind him, and the warm liquid quickly pooling into the hand he had used to cover the deep scrape.

The three started running a bit faster, and one called out to another, a tanned man with black hair and a white bandana around his head, and a hooded figure with grey, almost pure black skin and white eyes.

“Bad, catch!” The tanned man threw a glass bottle towards the other, a glowing liquid filling it to the stopper. The hooded man, ‘Bad’, catches it in both hands before downing the whole thing and looking back to Wilbur with determination in his glare. Wilbur looks back at this exchange in shock, before running somehow even faster, watching in fear as Bad rushes towards him at twice the speed he himself is.

The man gives him a wave, almost too whole hearted to be of his executor, before gaining enough distance on him to reach out and grab into the collar of his bright yellow sweater, yanking him backwards as Wilbur screamed. This was it, this was the end of his life. Up until now he had been pushing the thought away, almost subconsciously, but now... now it was certain. He had lost, it was checkmate.

Wilbur sobbed as his head hit the path, opening his eyes to bright orange sunlight from above and two men standing over him. One was Bad, who was grinning evilly (although honestly, it came out less evil and more like one a taunting sibling would give), and the third soldier, with lighter brown hair and white goggles on his head.

“It’s quite an interesting thing, actually.” Bad’s eyes gleamed with curiosity, and the other man rolled his eyes.

“Look, we have our instructions, it violated the Hybrid Laws, literally all we have to do is kill it. It’s even hurt, see, we’d just be putting it out of its misery.”

Wilbur was filled with rage at the way they spoke about him as if he wasn’t fucking right there, as if he couldn’t understand them. As if he was an animal. Besides, the satyr was only hurt because of their arrows. He could even see the bow on Bad’s back, as well as a quiver. Blood was still spilling out of the wound, he could feel that, and he’d probably start to feel the affect soon, as the adrenaline wears off.

“But George, we could at least take it back to Dream. See if it could be put into the laboratories or something.” Bad frowned, and the man named George shakes his head, pulling out a dark sword. Netherite.

“Horse legged motherfucker.” He mutters as he pulls the sword up above his head, and Wilbur flinches at the sudden movement, bracing himself for the blade to make contact with his skin. Just as George took the breath to prepare him to end Wilbur’s life, a shout came from behind the two, directing both of their attention and allowing the satyr a sigh of relief as they ran out of his field of view.

“George, Bad, get the hell over here!”

“Nick? Who the hell is that?!” Came the reply of George as he ran, and Wilbur lifted the upper half of his body off the ground, his vision swimming as he took in the sight in front of him.

The tanned man had taken out his own form of protection, a netherite axe held firmly in front of him, and an unfamiliar, towering figure standing his ground in front of him. He had pink hair, and appeared to be wearing a white shirt and simple brown trousers, with boots. Wilbur didn’t know this person, but it seemed like the other three did, based on how they seemed to be cautiously circling him.

What the satyr couldn’t seem to comprehend, however, was why a human was fighting the people trying to kill a so-called monster, the distaste for his kind shared by everyone. It just didn’t make any sense.

“Technoblade. The fabled fighter.” Nick tilted his head slightly, mockingly. “Come to save one of your fellow beasts?”

“No. I’ve come to demonstrate to Dream’s bitch boys how equality is done.” The figure’s voice came out in a monotone, drawling tone, almost as if he was already bored of this talk. 

Run, Wilbur, you dumbass.

Wilbur knew he should run, but somehow this conflict of interest, or, at some point just conflict, was enthralling to him. Besides, they had potions and netherite and he had nothing.

“Language.” Bad chastised, and the other two soldiers shot him a glare before continuing. 

“You understand we can’t let you free the criminal, correct?” 

Technoblade, as he was apparently called, pulled a netherite sword akin to George’s from his belt, raising it threateningly. “Don’t need to.”

The group stood in silence for a second, before all three of the soldiers dove in at once, Technoblade swinging his sword around with a determination that Wilbur had never seen in anyone. He watched in awe as Technoblade threw out a leg, kicking George away like a pesky fly on an arm, and flipped his sword, stabbing Bad in the rib cage with the pommel of the thing. 

Interrupting the marvel came the sound of beating wings, and the sky over Wilbur’s head darkened, the orange glow of sunlight being replaced by dark shadow. Upon tearing his eyes away from the fight, he could see another human figure in the sky, quite a distance above him, with gargantuan wings attached to their body, and approaching the ground, fast.

As they landed, a huge gust of wind blew from around them, and as Wilbur looked up, he saw a concerned looking, yet smiling man look down on him, seeming quite a bit older than any of the other men. He had blond hair reaching past his ears, and a green kimono, complementing his white wings. He knelt down next to Wilbur, spotting the wound on his shoulder.

“Hello, mate. I’m Phil. You must be Wilbur Soot.” Wilbur barely even questioned why this man knew his name, or why he was here, or why he was entirely ignoring the intense fight going on in front of him, but instead chose to stay silent, nodding slowly.

“That’s a pretty nasty injury, we should get going, fix it up.” He narrowed his eyes at the wound, still bleeding at a medium level, and Wilbur just then realised that it had been starting to hurt. A lot, suddenly. He somehow trusted that this man was trustworthy, something about the way he acted, the lack of reluctance to speak kindly towards the hybrid, and most of all the apparent being a hybrid himself. 

Wilbur moved his legs, his limited stretching ability of them making it slightly more difficult for him to stand, however, with the help of Phil’s shoulder for support, he eventually managed, and waited as Phil wrapped what appeared to be a cotton bandage around his arm, looking to Technoblade. They stopped, once again, by the edge of the village and the entrance to the forest for this.

“Come on, Techno, we need to go!” He shouted, and the pink haired man finally turned, startling Wilbur with his looks. Two fang like teeth protruded from his lower jaw, and he grinned, red eyes glowing as he knocked George to the ground for the umpteenth time. He stared at Wilbur, smug and proud of the stares he received in return. He rushed over, joining the older man and the satyr, calling over to the three soldiers before running off into the forest, closely followed by Wilbur and Phil.

“You guys can tell the green boy to suck it!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I have no writing schedule, but I do have four and a half chapters of this written out, and I promise it gets better!!
> 
> Please feel free to leave kudos etc etc, they really do motivate me, and thanks for reading!!


	2. Home

Phil sighed, watching as Techno sat slumped on a moss covered log, Wilbur sitting next to him, cautiously eyeing him every now and then. They had been waiting for ten minutes to be let into the small cottage he owned. Surely one of the four people currently inside had heard the persistent knocking? Honestly, he was starting to wonder if they were doing this to purposely annoy him. No, they wouldn’t do that while Techno was around. They were so scared of him, it was almost funny.

Wilbur was tapping one of his hooves on the dirt, obviously anxious to be in a new place, and Phil could understand why. From what he’d heard, his last master had been... less than considerate towards the satyr, and was assumed to have acted abusively towards him. Phil didn’t need to be a genius to understand why he was suspicious of two strangers saving him from death and taking him back to their house. 

At long last, he head footsteps thumping toward the front door, and shouting from somewhere else, and Phil could see Techno smirk out of the corner of his eye, as well as Wilbur eyeing the doorway. The door finally opened with a creak, and Phil looked down to see a blond, thirteen year old boy grinning at him form the door, obviously guilty of some sort of household crime.

“Hello, Tommy.” Phil greeted him, as if he didn’t know something was off.

“Hello, Philza Watson. Greetings, and welcome to my humble abode.” The child responded, scratching behind his pointed elf ears. 

“It’s my humble abode, Tommy, and may we come in? We’ve brought a guest.” Of course, Phil hadn’t told anyone that he was going to find Wilbur, he knew they would want to come with him. Even now, Tommy lit up at the mention of a new person, and stepped out the way of the door, allowing Phil to step inside, stretching his wings slightly before folding them behind his back. 

Techno quickly followed, ruffling Tommy’s hair (which incited a quick expletive from Tommy in protest), and walking through to the living room, probably to go find the other occupants of the cottage. Wilbur eventually followed, and Tommy’s eyes lit up like a Yule lantern, staring at the dewatered man in front of him.

“What the fuck, you’ve got fucking horse legs?!” Tommy shouted, not in an insulting tone, as Wilbur believed it usually would be. Wilbur scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, before muttering a quiet ‘yes’ in response. He usually wasn’t this quiet, honest, but today was a weird day, and this boy was scary.

“Tommy, this is Wilbur, he’s a satyr. Wilbur, this is my son, Tommy—“

“I’m an elf!” Tommy intervened in Phil’s introduction, bubbling with excitement.

“And Tommy, that’s two silvers in the swear jar.”

“Oh, come on, Dadza!” Tommy frowned, and Wilbur just stood there, taking in the ball of energy that was Tommy. He was the avian man’s son? Compared to him, he was so much more annoying, so much louder.

Phil simply smiled at the boy, before turning back to Wilbur. “Come on in.”

Wilbur reluctantly stepped through the hallway, leaving Tommy to sulk as he followed Phil through to a living room with a dim fireplace. A man was laying on the sofa, a black beanie atop his head. Foreign music was playing from a jukebox in the corner, and the man appeared to be enjoying it, looking up to Wilbur with a beam.

“Hola!” This man had no more of an indoor voice than the elf, reaching over to stop the music and pulling out a vinyl disk marked something in what looked to be Spanish. Wilbur smiled nervously in response, and the man sat up. “Eyy, are you new?”

Wilbur looked to Phil for help in this social interaction, and the older man shook his head at the man.

“No, Quackity, Wilbur here is just passing through. We found him being attacked by palace guards.”

Quackity blinked, before sitting forward, stretching yellow fluffy looking wings behind his back. “You’re a satyr, right? That’s pretty neat.”

“Those look like duck wings.” Wilbur mused, playing with the collar of his sweater.

“They are.” Quackity grinned, mimicking Wilbur’s astoundingly British accent. “I’m a duck hybrid.”

Wilbur furrowed his brow. “Didn’t know that was a thing.”

Quackity opened his mouth to say something in protest, and, possibly in Spanish, but Philza quickly put an arm round Wilbur’s shoulder, leading him out of the room. A small square of a hallway with curving stairs was passed through, barely big enough to fit the both of them, until they reached the kitchen. Phil gestures for Wilbur to sit down at the table, and so he did.

“Tea?” Phil asked, and Wilbur hesitated before nodding slowly, and the blind man beamed before going over to boil some water. “So, you were just working for... a lord, was it?”

“Uh... yeah...” Wilbur was beginning to wonder if Phil just wanted information.

“I know his advisor well, Captain Puffy. She was the one who contacted us about a concern for your safety.”

Wilbur had seen the captain a few times, mostly in passing, she was nice enough, but just as bitter to him as anyone he passed on the streets. The girl he did most of his work for spoke of her fondly, and though Wilbur had his doubts, he trusted her word. He had always trusted Niki, she wasn’t bad to him. Not like everyone else.

“Why would she care?” Wilbur responded bitterly, listening to the soft bubbling of the water.

“She’s a ram hybrid, actually. She hides it well, to avoid ending up like you almost did, but if she tied her absolutely massive hair back, and shit, you’d see.”

Wilbur fought the urge to snort. Her hair was pretty fucking huge, her brown curls reaching the backs of her knees at her worst. Come to think of it, she did seem a bit nervous when anyone came near her. Not enough to notice without purposely looking for the quick switch in emotion, but it was there. As well as this, it explained why she was so terrible to him and nice to Nikki. She was only trying to blend in.

“Who even are you,” Wilbur mumbled, tripping over his words. “And what’s even going on in this house?”

“Well, me and my sons, Techno and Tommy, we like to help other hybrids. Get them out of the Empire and bring them here, where, as of yet, nobody’s found us. Alex is one of the few we house full time, while others just come to visit and are positioned in a place that helps hide their identity, like Puffy.”

“So you’re like heroes, or something?”

“Well, not really, we just want to have equality.” Phil was stirring the tea in two cups now, and he calmly brought both of them over to the table.

“So does everyone. But that’s just not going to happen.” Wilbur looked at the brown liquid in his cup, watching as steam rose slowly in spirals.

As if to break the silence, Techno came stomping into the kitchen, his pink hair out of its braid and fly-away now, and he frowned. “Well, this looks like an eventful conversation.”

Phil gave his son a wary look, and he shrugged, walking to the counter, grabbing an apple, and walking to the door with it in hand. “If you want, Phil, I can take him upstairs to meet the guys.”

“That would be lovely, Techno, if Wilbur wants to, of course.” The man looked to Wilbur, who silently nodded, standing up and following Techno out the room, and up the stairs in the small hallway.

“Aren’t you, like, a really good fighter, or something?” Wilbur asked, slowly climbing up the stairs with the limited movement available in his legs.

“Yes. Actually, the best fighter in the kingdom.” Techno monotoned, although Wilbur could see that he was filled with pride at the statement. 

“Right.” Wilbur continued walking past a few bedrooms, each with their own sign.

Phil - Don’t come in, Tommy, in capitals.

Techno (The Blade), in thick red writing.

Big Man, in scrawled writing on a piece of paper, and Wilbur supposed this was Tommy.

Ranboo, in flawless cursive.

And, added to the bottom, Fox Kid, in the same scrawled writing that wrote Tommy’s sign, presumably still Tommy. Techno stopped at this door, turning to Wilbur. “Always knock before you go into someone’s room, unless it’s Tommy, because he doesn’t care.”

Wilbur nodded, watching as Techno lightly rapped on the door. After a few moments, the door was opened, revealing a tall man in a suit, with strangely half and half skin and hair, black and white. He looked down at Techno with a bright smile, then at Wilbur.

“Hello, Techno. Who’s this?” The man looked down at Wilbur’s legs, and stepped back to allow the two to walk in.

“This is Wilbur.”

“Hi,” Wilbur said nervously as he stepped past the tall man, into a light bedroom, with an entire wall of bookshelves on the opposite ends, a majority of the books labelled with an urgent ‘Do Not Read’. A red haired man was sitting on the bed, pointed furry ears perking up at the sight of the two people in the room, a long orange tail curled on the blanket.

“Hey, Techno! Hello, Wilbur. I like your sweater.”

“I’m Ranboo, and this is Floris, except everyone calls him Fundy.” The tall man sat down on a chair in the corner of the room, and Techno took a seat on the bed next to Fundy. Wilbur awkwardly decided to sit on the only other chair in the room, near Ranboo, and Fundy cleared his throat.

“I’m a fox hybrid, by the way. In case you couldn’t tell.”

Ranboo reluctantly responded. “I’m half one thing and half the other. Half enderman.”

Wilbur could tell he wasn’t going to give way what the other half of him was, because it definitely wasn’t human, so he just nodded, looking to Techno, who still hadn’t told him what he was. He gruffly responded to the stare with, “Half orc,” and sat back against the wall.

“So, where’d you come from, then, Wil? Can I call you Wil?”

Wilbur nodded in response to the second question, and started speaking, his voice shy in front of the two complete strangers and the man who had saved his life not two hours ago. “Well, I worked on an estate of some lord for a while, and I made friends with his daughter, Nikki...”

Fundy looked at him with bright, interested eyes, silently begging him to carry on. Wilbur didn’t want to say any more about Nikki, she was like his own story, not to be shared. She was a great friend.

“Well, I got kicked out and stuff, and now I’m here.” He decided to leave out the part where he was chased by a band of soldiers with varying levels of actual ability to fight. And the part where he almost died. And out of instinct, he tugged on his sleeve as if it were going to fall off and reveal the blood soaked bandage over his injury. 

“Are you going to be staying? Because, uh- you might have to share with someone, there’s, uhm, not really any more bedrooms.” Ranboo stuttered slightly, falling head first over his words.

Wilbur thought about this for a moment. Phil said it was a short term stay, but honestly, where was he supposed to go? And even if he wasn’t staying long term, he’d have to at least stay until he found a place to live himself. Thankfully, Techno answered this question for him, frowning.

“He’s gonna be stayin’ for a bit at least. He’s not sleeping with Tommy, or me, and Ranboo, you probably don’t want a roommate right now—“

Ranboo shook his head in agreement.

“So, Fundy, he’ll have to go in with you.”

Fundy beamed. “That’s fine!”

Thinking about it, Wilbur looked about Fundy’s age, meaning that everyone here apart from Tommy was an adult. He found this fact slightly amusing, the gremlin elf child was the youngest. That explained the swear jar. 

“Yeah, sure, I can deal with that.” Wilbur agreed, thinking to himself.

He wanted to get to know these people before he left. And here was the only place he had a chance of getting in contact with Niki. Through Captain Puffy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the support on the first chapter, I really appreciate it!!
> 
> On another note, extreme writers block and I do not have the energy to proofread this right now, so there might be errors. If so, sorry about that lmao


	3. Inside

Skeppy jumped at the sound of a voice echoing through the halls. 

“Geppy, I’m home!” His husband’s voice glowed with his usual aura of happiness, yet also holding a slight drop of disappointment. The man quickly pulled down the sleeves of his neon blue hoodie, covering the shining gems replacing dark flesh at the tops of his arms and running down his back. Sometimes he despised being married to one of Dream’s personal guards, but, he managed.

“I’ll be right there, Bad.” Skeppy pulled himself off the chair he was sitting on in the kitchen, putting down his spoon in the bowl of cereal he was slowly making his way through, and ran out to the entrance hall of their large manor, seeing his husband taking off the red and grey cloak he wore outside the house, beaming as he adjusted his glasses. Skeppy pulled him in for a hug and smiled, feigning interest in Bad’s violent job that he definitely wasn’t suited for.

“So, how was your day?” The man asked, and Bad’s smile dropped a little.

“We lost a criminal, a little horse legged guy. Technoblade came and got him.”

This sparked Skeppy’s attention. Technoblade was legendary among hybrids, a god, almost, saving hybrids from the cruelty of the kingdom. He had liaised with his father a couple of times, helping to get a few hybrids out of sticky situations, but didn’t really speak to the man himself. 

“Oh?”

“Yeah, the stupid muffin. Sapnap was very annoyed.” 

Nick was the leader of their little gang of soldiers, and Skeppy didn’t like him very much. He was way too bloodthirsty, just like the king himself. It was gross. Just as Skeppy was about to add a comment to the conversation, Bad’s smile widened once again.

“Oh, but Dream is holding a ball in three days, it’s very exciting, and we get to go as his personal guests. All the nobility will be there, it’ll be fun.” Bad bounced slightly as he said this, smiling brightly.

Skeppy nodded, however unsure he might be. Balls were usually used as a chance to show off any achievements, mostly to do with capturing, torturing, or forcing hybrids into the ‘system’ that gave them a life of hell. Only humans were allowed, unless the hybrid belonged to one of the guests. Whenever he went to one of the stupid things with Bad, it felt wrong. Like he shouldn’t be there.

But still, just one more wouldn’t hurt, right?

**

“Captain?” The loud, commanding voice of her boss rang out through the mansion, and Puffy jumped to attention, straightening her stance and quickly exiting her quarters, where she was sitting on the silk quilted bed. Lord Chu was not one to wait, she knew that by now. Almost by habit, she made her way across the hall as if she was in the military, standing at attention outside the lord’s office.

Soon enough, the door was opened to her, and she stepped inside, her light, fluffy brown hair bouncing on her back. “My lord.” Puffy quickly bowed respectfully.

The man nodded, standing up from his desk with a frown.

“As you know, Captain, you have had this job for a little over two months now.” 

Puffy nodded. Thanks to her outside contacts, she had managed to achieve the position to receive intel from inside Lord Chu’s household. This is something she had to be grateful for, even if they only helped her get the job because she was a hybrid, and they only knew she was a hybrid because they found her washed up on a beach by the docks, her large amount of hair wet enough to show the tips of her horns.

“And, as you may not know, the king is holding a ball, and it will, apparently, be your first.” Puffy widened her eyes. A literal ball? That was definitely not something she wanted to be doing. She had heard Niki mentioning them a few times, but they never really sounded like her thing. Her mind focused on the young hybrid who used to talk to Niki. She quickly pushed that thought out her mind.

“Of course, sir, but must I really attend?” 

“You are a captain. You are my advisor, and my daughter’s protector until we find her a hybrid of her own. Of course you must.” The lord looked at her as if she was insane, and Puffy quickly backed down, not wanting to anger the man. “Now, you are to deliver the news to my daughter, and after that I would like you to return to work.”

Puffy bowed once again, before exiting the room once again, a servant closing the door behind her. No matter how short that conversation was, it tired her out enough to not be bothered to keep her stance anymore, and her body wilted slightly, her laced sleeves batting against her wrists.

She slowly made her way back up the hall to Niki’s bedroom, knocking lightly and waiting for her to open the door. The white door opened to a bright smile, and Puffy couldn’t help but smile back. Niki’s hair had been dyed bright pink, and her eyes glowed with happiness at the entrance of her best friend. She was surprised that she could be so happy, after Wilbur... after Wilbur nearly died (and Niki didn’t even know he hadn’t, she couldn’t tell her), only two days ago, but honestly, she knew to never expect the girl to show feelings of sadness around those she cared for too much.

“Hi, Niki,” Puffy greeted, pulling a smile onto her own face. “What are you up to?”

Niki shrugged shyly, stepping back politely to allow Puffy into the room. She really was too precious for the world they lived in. As the brown haired girl stepped in, the smell of uncooked pastry dough filled her senses, a comforting and fresh smell compared to the musty antiqueness of the rest of the manor. She looked over to the polished wooden desk to see a rolling pin, some dough, and flour literally everywhere. The apparent ingredients were stashed under the desk, probably in case someone unwanted came in, not that that was any use with all the white powder everywhere.

“You’ve been... baking?”

Niki beamed, walking over to the desk and breathing in the smell of the dough. “Indeed. I just felt like I wanted to take up a new hobby!”

“That’s... really cool.” Puffy tilted her head, and Niki flushed red in pride. She was being sincere, it was amazing that she had worked up the courage to personally go down to the kitchen and take the things she needed, most likely ‘borrowed’ since the chefs didn’t really like trespassers. “Anyway, Lord Chu asked me to give you some news,”

Niki sat down on her bed, awaiting the words to come. “Mhm?”

“So, King Dream is holding this masquerade ball thing in a few days, and—“

Niki jumped up, her eyes wide in awe and she began dancing around the room, her white dress twirling around her legs in a rippling pattern. She laughed as she made her way over to an awkwardly standing Puffy, and squeezed her hands. For a girl who grew up to be pampered and spoiled, she sure acted way too beautifully when she was happy.

“Oh, Puffy, this is amazing! We get to go to an actual ball! And, even better, I get to see you in a dress!”

Puffy was caught off guard by this, and pulled a lock of hair in between her fingers as she backed away slightly.

“Uh, Niki, I’ll probably be in uniform...” she muttered, half laughing. Niki frowned, thinking about this for a moment, before shrugging and smiling again.

“I’ll do whatever it takes.” She said happily, before looking at Puffy’s mess of hair. “Why do you never let me style your hair, it would look really pretty.”

Of course, Puffy would love to tell the girl about the small ivory horns resting under her brown curls, about her ram hybrid lineage, about how she abandoned her own sibling in his time of need because she was sick of providing for other people. But not everyone gets what they want, and it was just too risky. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Niki, but more that she didn’t trust the people that Niki knew. 

She just wished everything that was wrong with her life would go away.

**

Dream shifted in place, attempting to assume a both intimidating and powerful position, pulling the green hood of his cape further over his head than he usually would to try and boost this. Through the pinpricks of sight in his hauntingly smiling mask, he could see the room around him, his two best guards standing near the stone brick walls and watching the door, whispering to one another every now and then. Nick was his best by far, not that he had told George this, so he was positioned slightly closer to the king, just in case something happened. 

Dream smirked under his mask, adrenaline rushing through his body at the thought of what he was about to do. This always brought him happiness, sometimes more than others, but most of all when he got to confront the person at hand. He waited for the large wooden doors at the end of the hall to open, feeling a hand rest on his shoulder in the sharp silence.

“You don’t need to do this, you know, Clay.” A British voice whispered from his side, and Dream’s smirk quickly dropped into a frustrated frown.

“Always with the sentimentality, Eret. He’s a criminal. A bastard hybrid who betrayed our kingdom and tried to flee from it.” He shrugged the hand off and turned to face the man, regally dressed in a red coat and his regular black sunglasses. Sometimes the man annoyed him, but he was hilariously loyal. That was all Dream needed.

“Yes, but he was also our friend.” The man looked like he pitied him. Dream didn’t need his pity. He despised pity.

Luckily, he didn’t have enough time to despise Eret, as well, for the door swung open, and one of his guards walked in, dragging a man behind him, kicking and screaming profanities. Dream could see George flinch at the sudden outburst of noise, and the guard threw the man down on the floor some distance away from the king before promptly leaving to join the other two guards by the wall. Neither of them acknowledged his arrival, their eyes fixated on the crumpled man on the floor.

“You will rise in front of His Royal Highness.” Eret’s voice boomed out through the room, and the man on the floor slowly rose to his knees, snivelling now instead of shouting. He looked pathetic. Curling horns, majestic to some (but not to Dream), protruded from his head, his brown hair messed up and his beard not so cleanly shaven.

“Jonathan Schlatt.” Dream’s voice was too sweet to be genuine, too cold to have any emotion. The man looked up with tired, almost black eyes, silently begging. “Long time, no see.”

Once upon a time, Schlatt had been a great friend to everyone in the hall, the highest of nobility, owning a large estate in the countryside. But those days, to Dream, were dead. Gone, all but dust. 

“Jonathan Schlatt, you have been found guilty for several charges, including, but not limited to, unruly childbearing under Section 2 of the Hybrid Laws, failure to comply with direct orders from the king, illegally exiting the country with charges pending against your name, and illegal smuggling of a hybrid out of the kingdom borders, under Section 7 of the aforementioned laws.” Eret sighed at the end of this list, looking down to the man as a glint of rage sparked in his eyes.

“I dispute those claims. ‘Specially the last one. I only did what I did to save a life.” His words were slurred, almost certainly he was either drunk, or in withdrawal. He looked ready to attack the king of it weren’t for the fact his feet and wrists were tied together with rope, and the glowing netherite sword on the king’s back. If he weren’t such a disgrace to the nation, Dream would pity him.

“Dispute denied.” Eret’s voice cracked, and he looked in shame at the ground.

“Oh, Schlatt. You should’ve known it’d come to this eventually. Disregarding my only term in exchange for the life of a creature like you? You were practically begging for execution, I mean, come on. Look at yourself.”

Schlatt’s face contorted in rage, and he angrily rolled himself down the hall, clinging onto a stone pillar to pull himself up and use all his energy to throw his body at Dream, although barely pushing him backwards. Immediately, the three guards present readied their weapons, and Eret took a defensive step back from the situation, horrified, but Dream just scoffed.

“Look at you. So pathetic. What would Alex think?” Alex was, undoubtedly, but supposedly secretly, Schlatt’s ex boyfriend. Also a hybrid, of course, and had been off the radar since Schlatt’s estate being seized. Dream stepped forward to where Schlatt had rolled back across the floor, a bruise on his cheek form how he landed, and he quickly unsheathed his sword, swinging it round so it was against the hybrid’s throat.

“Cla-“

“Shut it, Eret.” Dream smirked at the look of fear on the man’s face, pulled down from his high horse at last. His wealth, his family, nothing could save him now. 

“Dream. We used to be friends.” Schlatt croaked, but it was only words. Only echoing what Eret had already said, and that wasn’t going to cut it for Dream. He pushed the sword harder against his throat, and he could see George flinch from the other side of the room. Why was it bothering everyone so much?

Dream turned his mask so that it was on the side of his head, so Schlatt - so everyone - could see the happiness in his eyes at what he was about to do. He beamed, before taking the sword off his throat, and raising it above his head, ready for it to crash down on Schlatt. With a deep breath, he brought the weapon down with a dutiful energy, only for his arm to be caught midway. He didn’t even need to turn around to know who it was as his other arm as roughly held as well, forcing him to drop the sword.

“Eret.” His tone was warning, but that wasn’t going to stop the other man in his tracks.

“Dream, isn’t there another way?”

“And what are you suggesting?” The king’s eyes were still locked on Schlatt, his head bowed and probably crying. 

“I don’t know, we could lock him up? Torture, at most, but his crimes do not deserve death.”

Dream paused for a moment, considering this. Pain. That was all he wanted, right? So, it wouldn’t hurt for him to be put somewhere that was all he could feel, for the rest of eternity. He scoffed internally. He had a voice of reason, after all.

He sighed, turning to Eret as he forced one of his arms out of his grip to put the mask back over his face.

“Fine.” Without another word, he began to walk out of the room, beckoning for George and Nick to follow, to which they hastily obliged. “But, Eret, he is your responsibility. Anything happens, and both of you will be executed.”

The doors slammed shut behind Dream, and Eret ran to Schlatt, comforting him as his fate was unsealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After the fourth chapter, which was prewritten, there may or may not be a short break because I have hit a brick wall when it comes to writing at the moment :,)


	4. Box

Tommy enjoyed living with the people he did. He had found them all weird at first, ever since he arrived around two months ago, and as all of them came one by one, and all of them stayed. Techno and Phil lived there alone before he had turned up on their doorstep, looking for a place to stay. Next thing he knew, Phil had unofficially adopted him, and he had gained a father and a brother all in one day.

And then, he and Techno both came up with the idea of housing other hybrids who were in danger. It was pretty cool, going to find Fundy and sneaking him out of the small cottage where he lived with a drunken man, it was interesting finding Alex and taking the penniless duckling in. But by then, Phil had other contacts. Other people to help him.

They talked to Puffy, and got her into a position undercover at a known hybrid slaver’s estate. They met Skeppy, who was hiding his status as a hybrid form his own husband. And Tommy wasn’t needed anymore. It was a bit sad at first, but he was energetic, and quick to find new things to pass the time.

He was playing in the woods near the house when he first met Tubbo. He was drawing in the mud with a stick when he heard a crack of a twig nearby, jumping in fear. He slowly turned to the direction of the noise, wondering if one of the king’s guards had finally found him. He began to worry, his hands shaking as he raised his stick, speaking loudly in the direction of the voice. No animals inhabited this area of the forest, after all.

“Who’s there? I’ll beat you with my fucking stick!” Of course, a thirteen year old wouldn’t really succeed at this against an adult. But nobody could tell Tommy this.

There was no response, and Tommy began to feel immensely scared. He took a step back, looking around for a way back to the house. “Who the fuck are you?”

Tommy could see a glut of something in the trees, disappearing behind a particularly thick trunk. Were they... hiding? He could hear loud panting form behind the dark oak, trying to stifle the noise as Tommy approached, clutching his read and white t-shirt in fear. He waited until he was close enough to the tree to defend him self in case of a sudden attack, then peered round, seeing a boy curled up on the ground by the trunk.

He had small stubs of horns on his head, among tousled brown hair, and floppy ears. His pale face was covered in scratches, dirt, and tear tracks. A hybrid, and he looked like he was in trouble. Tommy slowly approached, and the boy shuffled backwards in fear. 

“Hey, it’s alright.” Tommy tilted his head, as the boy turned to face him with wide eyes. “I’m a hybrid too, you know. Were you running from soldiers and shit?”

The boy frowned at his use of language, but shook his head.

“You’re obviously hurt.” Tommy persisted, pushing for the full story here. The boy only shook his head again, and they sat in silence for a few moments, before Tommy sighed. “Look, I’ll go get my dad, he can fix you up.”

The small boy wiped tears from his face, nodding slowly in agreement. Tommy beamed, and stepped back from the tree. “I’ll be right back!”

The horned boy watched as Tommy rushed away into the distance, helplessly sitting there for a moment and contemplating every decision he had at the moment. And then, he decided. Slowly, he stood up, whimpering at the pain of movement, and slowly walking away. He had to get back, just in case Papa had come back.

By the time Tommy got back, armed with bandages and a strength potion, the boy was long gone, and Tommy frowned. He was partly disappointed, despite not even knowing his name, but also extremely confused. Why did he leave? The elf was only trying to help. It didn’t matter, anyway, he hadn’t bothered Phil with him, so he wasn’t wasting anyone’s time.

Still, he came back to the same spot of the forest the next day. And, funnily enough, so did the boy. He was sitting on a tree stump when Tommy arrived, ready to battle a growing sapling with a handmade wooden toy sword. He raised his eyebrows at the sight of the boy, who looked slightly guilty under his gaze. Tommy, however, quickly rushed over and rummaged around in his pockets, pulling out a sandwich. 

“Here. You can have it, I don’t mind.”

The boy’s eyes light up at the sight of food, and Tommy notices that his bright green shirt was quite baggy on him. Not to mention it appeared to be the same shirt as yesterday, unless he just owned a ton of the same shirt. He was slightly less dirty than yesterday, but there wasn’t that much of a difference, and he ate faster than any human being should. Even Tommy ate slower than that, and he was often told off for eating too quickly.

“So, why did you leave yesterday?”

The boy coughed quietly, before responding, his voice hoarse. “I went home to go see Papa.” 

Tommy smiled at this. He left to go and see his family. But then he remembered the state he was in, and frowned again. “Is your dad nice?”

The boy hesitated for a moment, looking down at his hands. “... yes.”

Tommy decided to drop this topic, and sat down on the ground in front of him with a friendly smile. “What’s your name? I’m Tommy.”

The boy looks doubtfully at him, before mumbling back, “Toby.”

“I’m going to call you Tubbo.” Tommy grinned, and Toby looked unimpressed.

“But it’s the same amount of syllables—“

“Small details.” The elf waved a hand dismissively, and Toby rolled his eyes. Regardless, Tommy was happy the small boy had opened up to him so quickly. Honestly by this point, the boy was getting quite bored, so a friend would be nice. He’d have to try and find out more about his father, though. 

They spent a few hours together, talking and laughing, until Tommy noticed a darkness growing in the sky above and sighed. “I’m gonna have to go home, Tubbo. Look, it’s getting dark.”

Tubbo looked up at the sky with wide eyes, and nodded quickly in agreement. They both said their goodbyes and quickly rushed in opposite directions to head home.

The two boys met every day from then on, and Tommy began to feel much closer to the horned hybrid. It took away from the boredom of being left at home as his father and brother found and brought more and more hybrids to safety. Tubbo wasn’t the only one he spoke to, of course, he often enjoyed play fighting with Techno, and Ranboo was a good friend to him. But Tubbo was really his best friend.

Despite this, he had never told any of his family about him, per Tubbo’s request. He had been suspicious of this, but he supposed he understood. Phil would surely want to meet Tubbo’s parents, and despite him being assured his Papa was a nice person, he somehow failed to believe that from the bruises and pale skin. Nevertheless, the bond the two shared was unbreakable. 

The day that Wilbur was brought home, Tommy was slightly late to their little meet up spot in the woods, thanks to spending at least three hours following him around the house and trying to get him to reveal something about why Techno and Phil took him back to the cottage (to no avail). It wasn’t too late, he hadn’t expected Tubbo to be absent from the area. 

“Tubbo? Big T?” Tommy called, his voice echoing through the forest only to dissolve into silence. Rain splattered onto his hair and clothes, thunder groaning overhead. He repeated this a few more times, taking a few steps in each direction in between calls, but still, no response. By this point, the blond was starting to feel sick, not nauseous, but the kind of sick that hit the bottom of his stomach like a rock, the feeling that something terrible was going to, or had happened. 

As the minutes passed, Tommy slowly came to the realisation his friend wasn’t coming. And this scared him. He shook as he walked towards the edge of the forest, the direction Tubbo went home in, and came to a clearing. It wasn’t a village, or kingdom walls, but a small meadow. Just a green meadow, the grass moist from the ongoing rain, harder now.

At the centre of the meadow was a small cardboard box, beaten and dissolving from water. A dirty blanket hung out the side, and the still silhouette of a body protruded from the open side. Tommy’s sickness and dread grew as he drew closer to the box, seeing small horns sticking up from the head of the unidentifiable body.

He looked down into the box, to see a curled up body, the only reference to it bring his friend being the horns and the bushy brown hair. The face was daunting, pale and fragile, dark eye bags under closed eyes, his body looking like it might break if touched. Tommy nearly threw up as he saw his clothes, confirming it to be his friend, as well as his only green shirt and brown trousers wet and sticking to his body.

A large bruise, obviously quite new, covered his right cheek, and a gash on his forehead was surrounded by mostly dried blood, though the sight still sickened Tommy.

How long has he been living like this? Why was he living like this? And why didn’t he tell him earlier?

Questions raced through the boy’s mind, but all that he really knew was that he didn’t have a lot of time to get him to safety. So, the young boy picked up his friend from the box, carefully carrying him into the shelter of the forest, slowly as he could. Once he got a bit more confident with his light weight, he started to pick up speed, jogging until he could see the front of their cottage. Techno was out front, in the small potato garden they had, and turned round when he saw Tommy.

“Tommy, what are you- what the hell, Tommy?!” He stood up, looking down at the boy in his brother’s arms in alarm. “Who’s this?”

“Your voice raised a whole octave there, Technoblade.” the grass moist from the ongoing rain, harder, now. 

At the centre of the meadow was a small cardboard box, beaten and dissolving from water. A dirty blanket hung out the side, and the still silhouette of a body protruded from the open side. Tommy’s sickness and dread only grew as he drew closer to the box, seeing small horns sticking up from the head of the unidentifiable body.

He looked down into the box, to see a curled up body, the only reference to it being his friend being the horns and the bushy brown hair. The face was daunting, pale and fragile, dark eye bags under closed eyes, his body looking like it might break if it was touched. Tommy nearly threw up as he saw his clothes, confirming him to be his friend, his only green shirt and brown trousers covering his body.

How long had he being living like this? Why was he living like this? And why didn’t he tell him earlier?

Questions raced through the boy’s mind, but the only thing that he knew was that he needed to get his friend to safety, and fast, before something bad happened to him. Slowly, the boy picked Tubbo up, kicking the box away and seeing a small knitted bee fall out. Tubbo had always loved bees. Tommy decided it was better to leave the bee, as the small ram hybrid was his first priority, and shifted his body into a position so Tubbo was lying on the blond’s back as he walked, slowly and cautiously at first. 

Once he had gotten away from the meadow under the shelter of the forest trees, he started to pick up his pace so that he was at a fast walking speed. He carried on rushing through the pouring bullets of rain, until he could see the side of the cottage through the trees, and he panted as he approached the gate to the front garden. In a raincoat, his elder brother Techno was inspecting the small potato garden, holding one he supposedly just harvested. When he saw his brother, and the boy he was holding, his eyes narrowed, then widened as he saw the state he was in, and he immediately walked over and took Tubbo into his own arms. Tommy flinched, wanting to protect his friend himself, but remembered Techno could be trusted and his stance softened.

“Tommy, who the hell is this?” His brother’s voice was a lot higher than it usually was.

“He’s my friend, he was out in the rain in the woods. He’s hurt.” Tommy hurriedly rushed towards the door, finding it propped open and flinging it open wide. 

Techno looked down at the boy now in his arms with furrowed brows, before running inside after his brother. He immediately laid him on the sofa, as Tommy bounded into the kitchen to fetch Phil, who walked into the living room with a white bandage and steaming mushroom soup he had probably made for another member of the household.

“Who’s this?” Phil noticed the horns on Tubbo’s head with a glint in his eye and leant down to the sofa, covering the ice cold boy in a blanket. “And where did these injuries come from?”

“His name is Tubbo, he’s my friend, and I don’t know. I just saw him like this in the woods. He was in a box.” Tommy stood anxiously a short distance from the sofa, hugging himself in fear.

The older man took a look at the wound on his forehead and lifted his head from the sofa, wrapping the bandage round and securing it, before glancing at the soup in his other hand and sighing before lifting it to his lips and letting a small amount slip down his throat.

“He was in a box?” Technoblade echoed in disbelief, looking down at Tubbo. “That explains the lack of body heat, it’s fucking pouring out there.”

“Mmm. Tommy, how long have you known this boy, and why did you never say anything?” Phil looked up to Tommy, who scowled.

“It’s not like I knew! He kept mentioning his dad!”

“Whoever this father is, he hasn’t been doing a good job.” Phil took a closer look at the boy. “When he wakes up, he’ll need some new clothes.”

“Dad, doesn’t he look a bit like Cara?” Techno pointed to the brown hair and growing horns. Cara was Puffy’s forename, and almost nobody used it.

Come to think of it, the boy did look a lot like her, even the facial features were somewhat matching. But Puffy was too nice to abandon a child like this, surely. Besides, she’d never said anything about him before.

**

A few minutes later, and Tommy was the only one by his friend’s side, Techno having gone to write up posters asking who the kid belonged to, and Phil having gone to make dinner for the now seven people he needed to provide for. They were lucky they had that potato farm.

Tommy watched Tubbo carefully, watching for any change in his unconscious state, which he secretly knew wouldn’t come for a while but stayed anyway. He looked down at his friend’s peacefully sleeping face, taking in every detail and taking a moment to just think.

He was only Tommy’s age, only thirteen, and he had learned to lie because he thought it was best for him. He had again and again made excuses for a father he might not even know, and had covered for himself only to put himself in a condition like this. He should know doctors wouldn’t treat a hybrid, even such a young one. 

Bias was fucking dumb. 

The laws were fucking dumb. 

King Dream was fucking dumb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sub plots really do be kicking in now tho


	5. Truth

Three days since Wilbur had arrived, and already, so much had happened. First there was the comatose child on the sofa, who had just recently woken up and immediately panicked and hid in one of the cupboards in the kitchen, before Ranboo managed to get him out with the help of Tommy. 

Then there’s Ranboo himself, constantly walking around the house with one of his books under his arm, often writing in them, and even walking around unresponsive to anything. He’d eventually found out from his roommate, Fundy, that he had weird memory problems, but it was weird, nonetheless.

And then there was his own roommate. He never thought he’d be sharing a room with the same person who had saved his life, nor that the hypothetical situation of it would be so awkward. They barely spoke, and Wilbur mostly stayed curled up job his bed when he was up there anyway, otherwise he was usually hanging around Fundy or Quackity.

He was sat on his bed now, the smell of cooking meat floating through the room, and staring at the book in his hands, a photo album Phil gave him. It was quite empty, he had explained, but he hoped to fill it up. A photo of Techno as a teen, holding a spear and grinning mischievously, a captured moment of Tommy posing in front of a burning house with a thumbs up, Ranboo nervously smiling at the camera as he tried to separate Fundy and Tommy from an intense looking argument.

They all looked so happy, despite the situation they were all in. All forced out of the kingdom into the small cottage in the middle of the woods, beyond any contact other than when Phil flew to the outskirts to collect the post. It was strange, but Wilbur could respect that. He doubt he would be able to smile through this, not when he didn’t know anything about his future right now.

As he continued to take in the images, he heard quiet footsteps entering the room, and looked up at Techno stepping in, the pink haired man returning his gaze. They both stood in silence for a moment, before Techno spoke up.

“Phil gave you the album, I see.” He mused, awkwardly sitting himself down at the desk in between the two beds, hunched over a book of his own. Wilbur contemplated a reply for a moment, but thankfully Techno continued speaking, insinuating it didn’t really need a response. “Puffy’s coming round today, in case you hadn’t heard.”

Wilbur perked up slightly, looking over to the man, who stared back. “Why?”

“She come round every week on her day off. If you were stuck pretending to be someone you’re not six days a week, would you want to stay?”

This was a fair point.

“Why did you tell me?”

“Figured you’d want to speak to her. Was I wrong?” This question seemed to be one Wilbur did not want to grace with an answer, he could tell it would only boost his ego.

“No.” 

Sure enough, he smirked, leaning back in the chair.

“Why are you here, anyway?” Wilbur sighed, and Techno raised a single brow. “You don’t really need protecting.”

“Can’t really leave Phil. He’s an old man.” Techno joked, his tone taking away greatly from the overall humour in the statement. Wilbur gave him a blank stare before deciding he was a lost cause and turning back to the album, running a hand over the rough pages. Every memory, every still moment had years of rich history leading up to it, and for a moment, the satyr was lost in the images. 

It was beautiful, and a family he could never have.

**

A knock on the front door rang out into the living room, and Tubbo jumped at the sound, still quick to flee at loud noises and fast movement. It was endearing, he was like a little bunny, but nobody was comfortable with thinking about how he had gotten to this point in the first place. Tommy placed a reassuring hand on his friend’s shoulder, before promptly forgetting about the loud noises part and shouting for someone to get the door.

Ranboo appeared, looking at the two young children before walking through to the hallway and opening the door, the two boys curled up on the sofa and waiting for whoever was going to come in to hurry up and do so. Tommy felt Tubbo tense as a calm, flowery voice greeted the enderman hybrid, the woman who Tommy had basically decided was the mum of the house.

“What is it, big man?” Tommy whispered to Tubbo, who looked back to him with wide, doe-like eyes. A flicker of fear appeared in them, and Tommy tilted his head. Did Puffy know him after all? Was she cruel, in any way, or was this just fear of strangers, as Tubbo had exhibited towards him not that long ago?

“Can we go up?” Tubbo whispered in response, eyeing the doorway to the hall where Ranboo, Puffy, and apparently now Phil who had appeared from somewhere nearby, were having a happy conversation. Tommy considered this for a minute, and eventually decided on a compromise.

“You go up, and I’ll stay down here.” The blonde didn’t give his reasons, knowing it would upset Tubbo. But, he planned on questioning Puffy, and thus it was for the greater good. 

Sadly, though, the greater good would have to wait. Because just as Tubbo was hopping up off the sofa, the three walked back into the room, the brown haired woman’s smile melting into shock as she stared down at Tubbo, and Tubbo stared back. The room was plunged into silence as the three onlookers noticed there was something severely wrong with the way the two were looking at each other.

Tommy could practically feel Tubbo’s discomfort in the situation radiating off of him, and a range of emotions flashed in Puffy’s eyes before a singular tear fell from her eye.

“Toby?” Her words shook as she spoke, her voice suddenly losing all its usual happy demeanour. A basket she was apparently carrying dropped to the floor, spilling several golden bread rolls, which Ranboo quickly collected and scurried away, desperate to get out of this situation sooner rather than later. Tommy looked between Tubbo and Puffy, confused, yet entirely aware of what was happening. It scared him.

Tubbo crouched back, leaning into Tommy who protectively glared at Puffy, unaware of how unthreatening a thirteen year old child looked whilst doing that. Puffy’s eyes never shifted from the lock they were in with Tubbo, who looked both frightened and relieved, somehow. 

The small ram hybrid opened his mouth to speak, but Phil interrupted, his brow creased and looking wary of the woman he was standing next to. “You know him, Captain?”

Puffy nodded slowly, her expression shifting form shocked to remorseful. Phil and Tommy exchanged a look, and the older man held out one of his wings, and curling it around Puffy to direct her towards the kitchen. Tommy turned to Tubbo and tapped his shoulder to grab his attention back from the empty doorway.

“You go upstairs, Tubs.” Tubbo returned this with a doubtful look.

“But—“

“Come on, I’ll be up in a bit.” The brown haired boy glanced once more at the kitchen, before jumping off the sofa and flitting to the stairs, barely making a sound as he disappeared from view. Tommy made a mental note to ask Tubbo about Puffy, later. He slowly tiptoed to the door of the hall, listening for any speech from the kitchen. 

For a moment, there was nothing but awkward silence, and then, “Are you his mother?”

Phil’s tone was firm, a hint of borderline threat underneath his calm facade. 

“No.” Puffy sniffed, with a hint of guilt. “But, I have to take... a bit of the blame for him being here.”

“So, you’re related?” Ranboo, apparently also in the kitchen, muttered, and the screech of a chair being pulled back could be heard.

“Yes. I’m his father’s sister, but I haven’t seen either of them in about... six, seven years?”

“Then how, how could it possibly be your fault?” Phil’s tone had barely softened. Tommy hadn’t heard his father like this before.

“I left him and his father in a bad place. I regretted it straight away, of course, but by then they were already long gone. I wouldn’t have been able to find them.”

More silence.

“I’m so glad he’s here, it’s the safest place he can be beyond doubt... where’s Schlatt?” The words tumbled out of her mouth, before slowing and quietening by the end. Tommy assumed, quite rightly, that his father was staring her down. This seems like a good place to exit, and besides, he had all the information he was after.

Tommy ran upstairs, passing Fundy on the way, and hurtled into his bedroom, sitting down next to Tubbo on the corner of the sleeping bag he had to make do with until they could get another bed.

Ten minutes later, he heard the door slam shut. Looking outside, the ram was slowly moving away from the house. Good riddance.

However, fifteen minutes after that, chaos sounded from the other side of the bedroom door, and he soon heard the door slam again. Looking outside, another curly brown haired figure was walking away from the house, this time at full speed. 

“Shit, that’s Wilbur.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why is writing the beginning of fics so difficult??? I just want to get to the drama already qwq


	6. Lies

Techno watched in silence from the living room window, as his roommate rushed away from the house, standing completely still as he strode out of view. He honestly didn’t know the entirety of what was going on, he didn’t really feel like getting involved with the drama. He only saw the beginning, and the aftermath.

He and Wil had resorted to awkwardly joking over the photo album, mostly Tommy’s obsessive love for the camera, always making his way into every photo, whether he just wanted to be included or really wanted to annoy Phil. And then they heard the shouting from downstairs, mostly Phil, but sometimes a female voice, although his father was the only one that sounded angry.

Wilbur winced at the noise, and Techno huffed, standing up and walking over to the door, swinging it open just in time to see Ranboo walking by towards his own room.

“What’s going on downstairs?” Techno sighed, and Ranboo shrugged awkwardly.

“Uh, I sort of, um... I wasn’t really paying attention, I didn’t want to be down there, so I came up.”

“Who’s Dadza shouting at?”

“Uh, Cara. I think he was just about to kick her out, he’s pretty mad...” Ranboo muttered, his voice growing quiet. Techno sighed, awkwardly patting him on the shoulder. He never was one for affection, really.

“Don’t worry about it, why don’t you try taking your mind off it.” Ranboo smiled nervously, scurrying off to his room.

Techno walked back into his bedroom to see Wilbur looking shocked, probably at the mention of the Captain’s name, and instantly the pink haired man knew what was bound to happen next wasn’t going to bode well with him. He had been specially waiting for Puffy to come round, and now, for some unknown reason, she was about to be kicked out. So Techno did what he did worst, and persuaded him to forget about it, and that Phil was probably overreacting.

Only a temporary fix, of course, because soon enough Wilbur realised the shouting had died down, and rushed out of the room. And, being Techno, he just sat there for a couple of minutes before realising he should probably help out. So he too ran down the stairs, to see Phil in the living room, looking defeated.

“What happened?” Phil’s wings stretched out behind him, and he turned to his son warily.

“Wil ran away. He said we should’ve trusted Puffy.”

“Should you have?”

“I’m not yet sure. I’ll explain later. For now, Wi-“

“We can’t stop Wilbur from leaving, Phil.” Techno watched as Phil curled into himself, looking genuinely upset that Wilbur had left. Techno stepped over to the window in two even strides, just in time to see him disappear, and stood there for a moment more. He sighed, softly. 

**

“Okay, so, to recap, I’m going to be... posing as a, uh, butler?”

Phil sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Ranboo inched back into his seat, glancing around the table to check if anyone seemed even the slightest annoyed at him for constantly asking questions. The winged man had been trying to explain the plan for the masquerade for half an hour, after it had come up in conversation with Puffy. That is, before she’d been barred from the house. They planned to go in and cause chaos, knowing that Dream was bound to have at least one hybrid to humiliate at the dance.

“Yes, Ranboo, you will be going in with Floris, and both of you will wait for my command.” He turned to everyone else. “Do the rest of you have any questions about the plan?”

Tubbo piped up, everyone turning to look at the small boy, who had begged to be let in on the mission, since Tommy was being involved. He hadn’t spoken the entire time. “Uh... could we go over the plan again?”

Phil nodded slowly, looking round to everyone. Fundy and Quackity both looked equally as bored, Ranboo continuously making pointless attempts at getting them to listen. Tommy and Tubbo appeared to be the only ones listening, excited and nervous respectively. Techno was just sitting on the kitchen counter, flicking dust off the red cape he was wearing.

“So, we arrive at the same time as everyone else, and then we split off. Fundy and Ranboo will go in through the main entrance, Fundy will be wearing a hat to cover his ears, and a cape, Ranboo will have to wear contacts.”

“So we’re pretending he has a skin condition again, right?” Fundy jabbed a thumb in Ranboo’s direction.

“Yes. Anyway, me and Quackity will make our way in through the servants’ entry to the back of the ballroom, which is where we will hide until the right time. Then, I give the signal, Ranboo and Fundy collect any hybrids they can, as well as getting our associates attending out of the room, and Techno, who will be on the glass roof with the kids, will start firing the crossbow.”

“Babysitting.” Techno grumbled, and Tommy was quick to throw him a scowl.

Phil looked once more around the table, pleased at the fact none of them looked very confused, and coughed. “House meeting adjourned, I suppose.”

Everyone slowly got up from their chairs and went back to whatever they were doing before, and once they were gone, Techno tapped Phil on the shoulder, pulling a quick jolt from him.

“Shit, Tech, don’t scare me like that.”

The pinkette shrugged, scratching the back of his neck. “You think Wilbur’ll go to the ball? If he finds Puffy, that is.”

“Won’t be that hard. He was working there until not even a week ago. So I suppose so, yes.”

“I- that’s true.” Techno brushed hair out of his face, looking down at the ground. Phil sighed, placing a comforting arm on his shoulder.

“He’ll be fine, Tech. If he finds the manor, that’s all that matters.”

By now, Techno knew what Puffy did, but that wasn’t what was bothering him. That was Tubbo’s problem, Puffy’s problem, and Phil’s problem. Not his. No, what was bothering him was the fact that Wilbur was on his own. He was on his own, and Techno couldn’t protect him. That bothered him more than anything.

**

Thick paper rustled in the cold frostbitten hands of the satyr, a map of the kingdom he had found on the wall by the door of the house. By now, it was getting late, and people were lighting lanterns on the pavement. The sky was darkening, the blue now an ashy grey. And he still hadn’t found the manor.

Wilbur had never had to find his own way around before, he was mostly carried round in a cage on the back of a cart, paying more attention to not hitting the bars around corners than where he was actually going. So now, he was having serious issues. He had managed to cover his body with a cloak, blending in as an entirely human being wandering the streets, but was still wary whenever he saw someone walk by with a sword.

He saw a woman by the side of the road, sweeping hay from the stables she was currently in front of, and walked over, looking at the map.

“‘Scuse me, whereabouts am I?”

The woman looked at him as if he were an idiot, and pointed to the stained map. “There, love.”

Wilbur took this in, furrowing his brow before nodding. “Thank you.”

He walked away, feeling the woman’s eyes leave his back as he turned a corner, continuing to walk. Luckily he appeared close to the manor, just a few blocks away. 

As he walked, he began to think, for the first time since he had left the house. He just hurtled out the door, he had shouted at Phil. Phil, who had saved his goddamn life. But he needed Niki, and the living with him thing had been temporary in the first place. He had only really stayed to speak to Puffy, so there was no point if she wasn’t coming back, surely. Besides, it’s not like he left any of his shit at the house, he didn’t have any. 

So surely, definitely, he was doing the right thing by leaving. Surely.


	7. A/N (Not a chapter)

Hello!!

I am here to report that, since I will be going back to school from tomorrow (got to hate online learning amirite), I may not have as much time and updates may be more sparse, so I’m sorry about that :,)

However, thank you for the continued support for this work, I really appreciate it and it makes me so happy to know that people are enjoying it, as I really am too!!

Thanks so much again,   
Doodle x


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